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New Schott TO Plus® Header Clocks in at 28 Gb/S, Almost Doubling Previous Data Transfer Speeds

SCHOTT TO PLUS® is a TO header with enhanced performance for high speed data rates of 10Gbit/s and above. In a recent breakthrough, the same line of headers has been optimized and proven to work at data rates of 28Gbit/s.

SCHOTT Electronic Packaging
will unveil a TO PLUS® package that offers data transfer speeds
of 28 Gb/s at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC/NFOEC) in Anaheim, Calif. on March 17 to 21. This
is the first and only transistor outline (TO) header with a data transfer speed of 28 Gb/s, making it the next generation to existing TO headers with data
throughput of either 10,14 or 17 Gb/s.

Data transmission rates continue to increase, especially in the field of data and telecommunications. The FC transmission standard in Storage Area Networks
(SANs) requires extremely fast data lines in data processing centers and thus extremely high data transfer speeds. The new TO PLUS header meets these
demands and was designed especially for use with VCSELs (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers) as Transmitter Optical Sub-Assemblies (TOSA) and Receiver
Optical Sub-Assemblies (ROSA).

TO PLUS® is a hermetically sealed package for high-frequency components that is mainly designed to offer high throughput rates with large
volumes of data in existing structures. This TO header was developed especially for Fibre Channel (FC) standard data transmission, and offers low signal
losses and high tolerance accuracy of its high-frequency connection.

The components are laid out to handle nominal impedance of 50 or 25 Ohm. Wire bond connections to the active device and assembly to flex circuit boards are
difficult when it comes to impedance matching.

“Therefore, we had to rethink the design structures,” explains Robert Hettler, Head of Research & Development at SCHOTT’s Electronic Packaging division
in Germany. “The new TO component has been improved in such a way that it can now work at data rates of 28 Gbit/s. Additionally the enhanced design allows
for a reduction of so-called parasitic influences and increases the high-frequency bandwidth.” This 28 Gb/s TO PLUS® header underscores SCHOTT’s
technology leadership in designing and manufacturing TO packages. “We are the first and only vendor on the market to offer this technology with data
transfer speed of 28 Gbit/s,” Hettler adds.

With TO PLUS®, SCHOTT offers large series, customer-specific solutions as part of its portfolio. Many customers have been using these TO
components in their manufacturing lines for years. By further developing these components to support a data transfer rate of 28 Gb/s, the complete assembly
and application infrastructure can be left as is, translating into a higher return on investment for facilities already in place.

SCHOTT TO PLUS® is a TO header with enhanced performance for high speed data rates of 10Gbit/s and above. In a recent breakthrough, the same line of headers has been optimized and proven to work at data rates of 28Gbit/s.